Ricky Meléndez (born Ricardo Omar Meléndez Saurí, November 22, 1967 in

Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Urban landscape Its name means "king's cattle farm" ( ...

) is a Puerto Rican singer, lawyer and actor, best known for his tenures as a member of boy band Menudo and of

El Reencuentro El Reencuentro was the name that six ex-members of musical group Menudo used for their comeback project remembering Menudo's golden era. Ricky Melendez, Rene Farrait, Miguel Cancel, Johnny Lozada, Ray Reyes, and Charlie Masso re-joined to c ...

Career

He was raised in

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...

. He became a member of Menudo at the age of nine. He was one of the original five in the group joined by his brothers

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

, and brothers Fernando and Nefty Salaberry. He is also the cousin of group founder

Edgardo Díaz Edgardo Díaz (born 1947) is a Puerto Rican music producer. He is the creator of the "boy band" Menudo. Early life Díaz was born in Panama City, Panama to Puerto Rican parents "Nacho" Diaz and his wife "Panchi", Díaz grew up in Miami, F ...

. As a member of Menudo, he acted in two films: '' Menudo: La Pelicula'' and ''

Una Aventura Llamada Menudo ''Una aventura llamada Menudo'' is a 1982 film featuring teen boy band Menudo and Puerto Rican actress Gladys Rodríguez. The film's soundtrack received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. Synopsis In ''Una aventura llam ...

''. He was a member of the band through most of the band's golden era and he's remembered for singing lead in the tracks "Y Yo No Bailo", " Amor en Bicicleta" and "Cámbiale Las Pilas". Meléndez retired from Menudo in 1984 at the mandatory age of 16, but since he had started at age nine, he became the band member with the longest tenure at eight years. He gave up his place to

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

. His final concert with Menudo was in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...

, where he was joined by most of the former Menudo members on that concert's date, September 16, 1984. Once Meléndez left Menudo, he tried various business ventures, including a shop at

Plaza Las Americas A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, and became a lawyer. In 1998, he got together with former bandmates Rene Farrait,

Johnny Lozada Johnny Lozada Correa (born December 21, 1967 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, host, and television personality. Lozada was a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo during its golden years, joining the group in 1980 and ...

Ray Reyes Ray Reyes León (March 13, 1970 – April 30, 2021) was a Puerto Rican singer who was a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Career He was born in New York City and was raised in Levittown, a neighborhood in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. He b ...

Charlie Masso Carlos Javier Rivera Masso (born June 13, 1969 in San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known as Charlie Masso, is a Puerto Rican singer and actor. Masso is a former member of Menudo, joining the band at the height of Menudo's worldwide fame. He rep ...

and

Miguel Cancel Miguel Ángel Cancel Vázquez (born June 28, 1968) is an American singer, actor and retired police officer of Puerto Rican descent who began his career with the Puerto Rico-based boy band Menudo. Career Menudo Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cance ...

to make a comeback tour under the name of

. They toured the world.

Personal life

Meléndez graduated in 1995 with a juris doctor from the

University of Puerto Rico Law School The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...

. Now lives in San Juan with his wife Miriam Calderin and practices corporate and real estate law at Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez LLC. Meléndez also has a B.A. from

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in broadcasting. Melendez is married to Miriam "Muñeca" Calderín. He has one son and one daughter.

In pop culture

Melendez is played by Marcelo Otano and by Eugenio Rivera in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video series based on Menudo, " Subete A Mi Moto".

Discography

With Menudo

* ''Los Fantasmas'' (1977) * ''Laura'' (1978) * ''

Chiquitita "Chiquitita" (a Spanish term of endearment for a woman meaning "little one") is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in January 1979 as the first single from the group's sixth album, '' Voulez-Vous'' (1979). Agnetha Fälts ...

'' (1979) * ''Felicidades'' (1979) * ''Mas Mucho Mas'' (1980) * ''Es Navidad'' (1980) * '' Fuego'' (1981) * '' Xanadu'' (1981) * ''

Quiero Ser ''Quiero Ser'' (1981) is Menudo's ninth Spanish album and the second one released in 1981, featuring Ricky Meléndez, René Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbiá and Miguel Cancel. With this album, their popularity started rising all over Lat ...

'' (1981) * '' Por Amor'' (1982) * ''

Una aventura llamada Menudo ''Una aventura llamada Menudo'' is a 1982 film featuring teen boy band Menudo and Puerto Rican actress Gladys Rodríguez. The film's soundtrack received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. Synopsis In ''Una aventura llam ...

'' (1982) * '' Feliz Navidad'' (1982) * ''

A Todo Rock ''A Todo Rock'' is Menudo's thirteenth album in Spanish. It features Ricky Meléndez, Johnny Lozada, Charlie Massó, and new members Ray Reyes, who replaced Xavier Serbiá after Xavier reached the age limit and Roy Rosselló, who replaced Migu ...

'' (1983) * '' Reaching Out'' (1984) * ''

Mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together wit ...

'' (1984)

References